William and Mary QB Caprio improves steadily

WILLIAMSBURG — — Brent Caprio ran parallel to the line of scrimmage toward the right sideline, waiting, waiting, and then just before going out of bounds and as he was hit by two defenders, winged a short touchdown pass to Nolan Kearney to give William and Mary the lead against Rhode Island.

Moments later, Caprio located D.J. Mangas, the third option on the play, in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion.

Two plays, seconds apart, illustrate Caprio's progress at quarterback and provide encouragement for the William and Mary offense as the Tribe (4-5, 2-4 CAA) prepares for its final two games, beginning with Saturday's home finale versus Old Dominion.

"It's tough to get two or three different quarterbacks reps with all the receivers and all the running backs," Caprio said. "There's obviously a comfort level you have with certain guys, and if you're not getting the reps with those guys, it's hard to be on the same page sometimes.

"But in the past couple weeks, I think I've been able to gain a certain comfort level with a lot of the receivers and (tailback Jon) Grimes. I think I'm gaining confidence in myself and the guys are gaining confidence in me, and we're getting to know each other a little bit better. We'll start to click more and more on offense if that continues."

Caprio is the latest quarterback through the Tribe's revolving door at the position, which has come about through injury and inconsistency. Senior Mike Paulus has gotten a couple of turns, as have Caprio and Michael Graham.

When Graham suffered a season-ending injury to his throwing hand near the end of the Towson game, the Tribe coaching staff returned to Caprio, preparing him through the bye week for last Saturday's game at Rhode Island.

William and Mary lost to URI 24-21, but the loss wasn't on quarterback play. The Tribe had two punts blocked in the fourth quarter, leading to Rhode Island's final 10 points. Caprio was a reasonably efficient 15-for-26 for 143 yards and one touchdown, with one interception.

"I thought Brent played pretty well," Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said. "He really wants to do well, he really does. He recognizes that there's areas in which he needs to improve, and he works at it. As long as he's doing that and as long as he understands that, he's going to continue to improve."

Caprio, a redshirt sophomore from Somers Point, N.J., came to William and Mary with a glossy high school resume'. He was a three-year starter at Mainland High, where his team was undefeated state champ as a senior and state finalist as a junior.

"You look at his record in high school, there's some guys that just find a way to get it done," Tribe linebacker Dante Cook said. "He's not afraid to get in there against a defense. He's got one of those mix-it-up kind of personalities. He's a tough guy. He's going to find a way to try to get it done. I think a lot of people respect that about Caprio and I think a lot of people are confident in his ability to win and get it done."

At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, Caprio doesn't possess great size or speed or a rifle arm. But he is exceptionally intelligent — he joked that his high school GPA (4.8) matched his time in the 40-yard dash — and he doesn't wilt under Laycock's intense tutoring of quarterbacks.

"I think I'm definitely someone who can handle that," Caprio said. "If you're under that kind of pressure in practice, that kind of scrutiny, it'll only make it easier for you in the game."

Caprio admits that he struggled early in the season as the Tribe sought consistency at quarterback and he tried to establish himself. He said that he probably wouldn't have made the scoring plays that he did in the fourth quarter versus Rhode Island a month ago.

"At the beginning of the season I tried to press and force big plays, force some throws," he said. "As the season's gone along and I've gotten more opportunities, I think I've started to play more my game, which is a smart game — try not to turn the ball over, making good decisions with the ball, getting the ball in the playmakers' hands, managing the offense and managing the game."

As Laycock said simply: Caprio needs reps, needs playing time.

"There were times at Rhode Island when he was hesitant about throwing the ball, about pulling the string early," Laycock said. "He knew what to do. He knows exactly what to do. But being able to know it, see it, and do it in the right time frame, that's his biggest issue right now."